Arrests Made in Abduction of Franklin Boy

Investigators have found a Robertson County boy missing since August and his parents are in jail charged with interference of child custody.

What was supposed to be a week-long stay with his biological parents turned into what authorities are calling -- a kidnapping. In August of 2012, Brian Moore and his wife Madeline picked up their then six-year-old son Richard from Brian's mother who was granted custody of the child in 2011.

At the end of the week, the boy had not been returned,” said Robertson County Sheriff’s Investigator, Steve Misterek.

For the next seven months, Investigator Stephen Misterek would follow up on leads obtained from law enforcement agencies he partnered with from Franklin, Arizona and Santa Clara, New Mexico.

“We learned that Madeline had family in the El Paso area so we concentrated there," said Misterek.

“They already had a good 10 day head start on us and we really had no idea where they had left to,” said Misterek.

After months of no leads, Madeline's father, Michael McCartney, who was with the boy's parents the entire time, made an unusual phone call back home.

”Mike McCartney who is the grandfather of the child made a phone call, requesting a divorce to his wife who lived in Iola at the time,” Misterek said.

The phone call was traced to Show low, Arizona.

U.S. Marshals say the family would travel to 3 different Wal-Mart locations, every month, 150 miles away in order to cash McCartney’s social security checks.

“They don’t issue checks anymore for social security, so what they were doing was driving to three different Wal-Mart locations, anywhere from 100 to 150 miles away and cashing out his social security card,” explained Misterek. “They would make these roughly two-hour trips at least once a month.”

On February, 2013 surveillance cameras captured the family at the Show low Arizona Wal-Mart. GPS from a cell phone then gave investigators a location to the family's home. In March, U.S. Marshals zeroed in.

“U.S. Marshal's set up and just sat and waited, and I remember them telling me it just got real dark and so they used night vision goggles,” Misterek explained. “They finally slipped up to the house and looked inside the trailer and that's when they saw Madeline and the child.

The three adults were arrested and taken into custody.

“This file is seven months’ worth of work,” added Misterek.

Work that Misterek can finally say paid off.

The Grant County jail issued $20,000 cash bond's for each suspect.

“It was the best feeling to finally tell Mrs. Moore that we had located where they were living; and as soon as I told her they had all three in custody, she left for New Mexico to bring her grandson back home,” said Misterek. “That was the greatest feeling.”

Investigators say the Robertson County Sheriff's office is working on having the boy's parents extradited back to Texas.

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